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Downers Grove South slips past Addison Trail in OT

In a tie game and time winding down in overtime, Patrick Shaughnessy and the Downers Grove South boys basketball team knew they needed a shot.

So with about a second left in the overtime period, Shaughnessy pulled up from about 30 feet and saw his shot miss.

"I thought, 'Oh, another OT, let's get after it.'" Shaughnessy said.

Except, he didn't hear the official's whistle calling for a foul and three free-throw attempts.

"I went up for a shot and there was two guys on me and one of them hit my arm," Shaughnessy said.

Shaughnessy missed the first free throw, but he sank the second one as Downers Grove South beat Addison Trail 44-43 in West Suburban Gold action.

So, was Shaughnessy nervous after missing the first one?

"Not really, because I have three strikes and you're out," he said. "So I hit the second one and that was game."

The final play was kind of a mad scramble. Justin Eagins dribbled around and fed the ball to Shaughnessy, who dribbled around and pulled up when he heard the crowd counting down.

"It was for me to set a ball screen for (Eagins) and for him to either go or give the ball to me," said junior Wesley Hooker, who finished with a team-high 16 points. "They were playing good 'D.' I was nervous, but when I heard they called a foul, I was like, 'Thank you.'"

It left Adem Mehmeti and Addison Trail (11-14, 1-8) wondering what could have been. The Blazers were 0 of 2 from the field and 2 of 5 from the free-throw line in overtime.

"We contested, but the call didn't go our way, but we really shouldn't blame the call at the end of the game," Mehmeti, who finished with a game-high 19 points, said. "We can't blame the call for losing the game."

Addison Trail had a chance to hold the ball for the final shot in overtime. After a Shaughnessy layup tied the game at 43 with 1:20 to play, Addison Trail was content to hold for the final shot. Only the Blazers were called for a travel. It was one of 17 turnovers in the game for Addison Trail.

Downers Grove South coach Kris Olson didn't take a timeout, instead, electing to have his team play its way out. He actually didn't say a word to the team from the second quarter till the final free throw.

"I didn't tell the kids one thing," Olson said. "They needed to take their team back and not rely on me. I literally said nothing for (about) two and a half quarters."

Instead, junior Charlie Furman took over "coaching" duties in timeouts.

"He was helping us in the huddles," Hooker said. "He would sit where the coach would usually sit and he would draw stuff up, talk to us. Just get us pumped."

On the court Hooker was the field general.

"I helped guide it on the court," Hooker said.

The game was set up for a frantic finish in regulation. Eagins split a pair of free throws with 2:06 left that gave the Mustangs (11-11, 3-6) a 41-39 lead. Addison Trail came back down the court and J.T. Daniels hit a jumper with 1:46 to tie it.

Downers Grove South held for the final shot, but Eagins' shot clanked off the front iron and Daniels' full court heave shot fell short.

"I think we played solid 'D' the whole time," Mehmeti said. "Hats off to our team, hats off to their team, they just came with the free throws at the end."

It proved to be a tough loss for Addison Trail given the circumstances. Daniels, the team's third-leading scorer, picked up his second foul and a technical in the first quarter and did not play until the fourth quarter. The Blazers opened the second quarter on a 13-2 run, too.

"That's what I said to them," Addison Trail coach Brendan Lyons said. "We had guys that just battled out there tonight and you feel bad for (them) when they pour their heart out there and there's other things that we could be doing to walk away a with a win."

Instead, Shaughnessy helped Downers Grove South leave with a victory.

"I know I practiced (free throws) so many times, it was just mechanics," Shaughnessy said. "It felt great."

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